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Clean Energy Innovation Technology Coming to Atlantic Canada

HALIFAX, July 28, 2017 /CNW/ - Canada's prosperity and competitiveness are linked to sustainable economic growth and a successful transition to a low-carbon future. The Government of Canada continues to take steps to support the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and is committed to creating a cleaner environment for future generations by investing in clean technologies.

Today, Member of Parliament Andy Fillmore, on behalf of Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, announced $482,000 in federal funding for Dalhousie University for a multi-partner methane field research and development project. Researchers will measure methane emission levels at mature oil, gas and coal resource extraction sites in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The funding is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Energy Innovation Program (EIP), which supports research, development and demonstration projects to bolster innovation in the clean energy sector.

The project will not only create an inventory of methane emissions from the past, it will provide opportunities to validate new technologies for the future, helping reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, methane accounts for about 16 percent of all GHGs, second only to carbon dioxide. This coupled with the fact that it has 25 times the climate-warming effects of carbon dioxide, means that addressing methane is key to meeting our climate change goals.

Quotes

"Canadian universities are home to some of the best minds in the clean energy sector and they're keen to support our country's transition to a low-carbon future. By investing in the work of these leading researchers, our government is taking meaningful climate action to ensure the accurate and effective measurement of methane emissions in our region."

Andy FillmoreMember of Parliament for Halifax

"Through the Gas Seepage Project (GaSP), Dalhousie's excellence in earth sciences research is united with the strengths of other Canadian universities in the Maritimes and local industry partners. Together, and with this federal support, we're building the scientific knowledge required to better understand how the fossil fuel extraction sites of our past are still affecting our atmosphere today. This research will also lay the groundwork for similar methane emission assessments in other areas of Canada and the world."